Putin's Constant Coughing in NYE Address Spurs More Rumors About His Health

Questions about the health of Russian President Vladimir Putin flared up again over the New Year's weekend after he appeared to cough frequently in a recent video.

Putin released his annual New Year's Eve address on Saturday, in which he called the ongoing war in Ukraine a "sacred duty" for the Russian people and a battle for the sovereignty of Russia. Some, however, made note of portions of Putin's address in which he coughed multiple times in rapid succession, raising the specter of his allegedly failing health.

Francis Scarr, a BBC reporter covering state-run media in Russia, was among the first to share a clip of Putin from the address to Twitter. Over the course of 7 seconds, the Russian leader appears to cough three times as he continues to barrel through his words.

"Coughing away in his NY address," Scarr wrote.

Responding to Scarr, Sam Sokol, a reporter for Hareetz.com, called Putin "the sick man of Europe."

Julia Davis, creator of the Russian Media Monitor and columnist for The Daily Beast, also noted Putin's pronounced cough during the address, adding that he also seemed jittery.

"Jittery, coughing Putin complained about sanctions in his depressing New Year's address to the Russian people," Davis tweeted.

Another Twitter user, going by Tiffany, dug deeper into the potential health issues plaguing the Russian president. The user claimed that he was likely suffering from an advancing neurological issue and was attempting to keep his muscles under control. The coughing, the user added, might have been part of this attempt to keep the jitters at bay, which would also indicate how the condition is advancing.

"Whatever neurological issue he has, it's advancing," the user wrote. "What he's doing is trying to 'jolt' his muscles back under control. This is the first time I've seen him cough to do it, so it's starting to affect his vocal chords and likely respiratory system."

Rumors about Putin's allegedly failing health have been plentiful over the years, but gained a new spotlight since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February. Prior to the Russian leader's New Year's Eve address, concerns were raised after the Kremlin announced that Putin's end-of-year press conference was being canceled for the first time in 10 years.

No official reason was given, but some outlets, including The Sun, cited sources claiming that Putin's failing health was becoming more noticeable on camera. The Kremlin's press secretary previously dismissed such rumors as hearsay.

"Ukrainian information specialists, in quotation marks, both American and British, have been throwing various ducks about the state of the president's health in recent months. It's nothing but ducks," Dmitry Peskov said, as quoted by Russia's online newspaper Gazeta. "Ducks" is a Russian euphemism for gossip.

In addition, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov tried to disperse the rumors surrounding Putin's health last May.

"President Vladimir Putin appears in public every day," he said in an interview with French television. "You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his performances. I don't think that sane people can see signs of some kind of illness or poor health."

Newsweek reached out to Russian officials for comment.